The Midnight Hour - Brenda Jackson [41]
She was in his thoughts now. He couldn't help but remember the first time he had seen her while sitting in the coffee shop, then how they had sparred off later in Casey's office. Then there was the mission and how well they had worked together. But nothing could top the memories of them making love. That moment in time would always be branded into his mind.
He opened his eyes and his gazed drifted to all the babies he saw. Why couldn't he let go the memory of him and Tori having unprotected sex? She had promised that she would contact him if their night together had resulted in a pregnancy and she hadn't so he could only assume she wasn't having his child. But for some reason he needed to hear her say it. He needed the confirmation to come from her lips.
"Warren, I'm glad to see you're still doing better."
Drake glanced to the side and saw Joshua Avery was standing next to his lawn chair. Months ago while in Trevor and Corinthians's home when he'd been recuperating, he had thanked the man for using his clout to get him out of Iraq. Having to thank Joshua Avery for anything had left a bad taste in his mouth but he'd felt compelled to do it. "Thanks," he said and closed his eyes, hoping Joshua would take the hint that he wanted to be left alone and move on.
He did.
When Drake reopened his eyes moments later, he noticed that Joshua was now talking to Jake Madaris. He hadn't wanted to stare before but Joshua, it seemed, had a little bit more hair on his head than before. Drake grinned. If he didn't know better he'd swear the man was trying to grow an Afro. He chuckled. Was Joshua Avery, the former staunch Republican senator, making an attempt to reconnect to his roots? Drake shook his head. If so, he still had a long way to go to do so.
Drake was about to close his eyes again when he saw that Alexander Maxwell had arrived. Alex at thirty was a former FBI agent who owned and operated Maxwell Security and Investigators. Drake had seen firsthand how competent Alex was when one of Nettie's employees at the restaurant had been kidnapped by her ex-husband last year. Filled with jealous rage, the man had broken out of prison, intent on teaching his wife a lesson. It had taken a team effort of Drake, Alex, Trevor, and Ashton to find the woman after Dex Madaris, a geologist, had pinpointed her location from a dirt sample. Also, Alex had successfully destroyed the plans of a demented person who'd been intent on killing wealthy rancher Jake Madaris a couple of years ago.
When Alex caught Drake's gaze he began walking toward him with a glass of lemonade in his hand. He was six-feet-four inches tall and was impeccably dressed in a pair of jeans, a chambray shirt, and western boots on his feet, giving the appearance of a Texan, through and through. Drake also knew that Alex was as sharp as he looked. He had obtained a bachelor's degree from Howard University and a master's degree from MIT.
"I saw you sleeping earlier and didn't want to wake you," Alex said to Drake. "How you manage to sleep with all the noise going on is beyond me."
Drake pulled himself into a sitting position as Alex took the patio chair across from him. Drake shrugged. "I'm used to snatching sleep where and when I can." He extended his hand to Alex and gave him a firm handshake. "It's good to see you again."
Alex smiled. "Same here, Drake, and I remember those days with the Bureau when sleep was a precious commodity you never got enough of." He then leaned back in his chair and took a sip of the lemonade Corinthians had placed in his hand the moment he had walked into the backyard. "Trevor told me you want me to find someone."
Drake inhaled deeply. "It's this woman I met, a former CIA agent by the name of Victoria Green. While I was out on an assignment she left the Agency and per Agency policies, no one can give me any information as to where she's gone. I tried using the contacts that I had but it seems like she's fallen